With the “Splendore dell’Arte” project, Brescia has become a fully fledged European art capital. Brescia itself is a splendid jewel of art and history and its old town is home to the largest archaeological park in Northern Italy. So why not spend a day sauntering through the streets of old Brescia, to discover the artistic treasures that this city has to offer?
Follow the route from the Santa Giulia Museum, filled with monumental archaeological artefacts, including the celebrated Winged Victory, to the Domus dell’Ortaglia, two noble residences recently completely restored. The visit continues in the adjacent Piazza del Foro, site of the majestic Capitoline Temple erected by the Emperor Vespasian between 73 and 74 AD. The nearby Roman Theatre, located on the slopes of the Cidneo Hill, was built in the Flavian era (69-96 AD). It could hold up to 15,000 spectators and was one of the most important of the region. Traces of Roman Brescia are also to be found in Piazza della Loggia, just a short walk away. In the middle of the Fifteenth Century, fragments of Roman inscriptions were inserted into the marbles which decorate the facade of the Monte di Pietà building. According to the intentions of the architects of the time, this was designed to grant prestige to Brescia’s ancient origins.
The Old or Round Cathedral (Twelfth Century) is a charming building rich with works of art, including the Fourteenth Century sarcophagus of Bishop Berardo Maggi and masterpieces by Il Moretto and Il Romanino. The adjacent Palazzo del Broletto was the site of the town hall in the Medieval era and home to the offices of the Venetian authorities who ruled Brescia from the Fifteenth to the Eighteenth Century. Continue walking to the Castle; the internal walls of the important fortified barbican (75,000 square metres) are the work of the Visconti family, who ruled the city from 1337. This is the site of Piazzale della Torre Mirabella (Thirteenth Century) and the Thirteenth Century Mastio Visconteo. The visit continues to the San Salvatore Monastery, founded in 753 by the Lombard King Desiderio, father of tragically famous Ermengarda, the bride repudiated by Charlemagne. Inside the complex, as well as the basilica of San Salvatore, we can admire the Nuns’ Choir, the Romanesque oratory of Santa Maria in Solario (with the famous Desiderio Cross) and the cloisters. The visit to Renaissance Brescia begins in Piazza della Loggia, theatrical reconstruction of a Venetian piazza in Brescian territory which dates back to 1433 and bears witness to the period of Venetian domination. Palazzo Loggia, the Monti di Pietà and the charming Torretta dell’Orologio, with two bronze men who mark the hours, all face onto the piazza. A few steps away, in Piazza Paolo VI, stands the New Cathedral, built between 1604 and 1825. Its cupola is the third highest in Italy.